Friday Favorites and 5 on Friday

Can you believe we made it to Friday?! I have February vacation next week, and fingers crossed it will get into the 30s! I really want to visit our outdoor outlets, and as long as it is in the 30s, I will brave the elements :). I hope everyone had a great week-- now onto the link-ups!

I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and her friends for Friday Favorites, as well as, Darci from The Good Life and her friends for 5 on Friday:


{1} Family
This week, one of my students experienced two losses, and it really affected me. I can't imagine losing people that you are close to at such a young age. I love my family to pieces, but unfortunately I take them for granted sometimes. I think it is so important to tell everyone how much you care for them-- it is the little things that truly matter.

 
     My sisters and cousins



My parents :)


{2} TIME!!!
I am so ready to have specific and designated time for myself! Sure snow days are great, but half of the time, I am planning and trying to figure out how to re-arrange my school calendar. February vacation officially starts at 2:12 pm today, and I am very excited to be catching up on fun things like: cleaning (yes I like cleaning), seeing friends, and writing my wedding thanks yous. What is the statute of limitation on writing thank you cards? Two months? Well, let's hope so haha.


{3} Polar Seltzer Water
Thanks to my husband (and the fact that this is the only refreshment type he buys at the grocery store) I am obsessed with seltzer water. I hated it when I first tried it. It tasted bitter, sour, and not like the flavor it claimed to be. Well, I am a changed woman. I LOVE them now! I think it's like beer-- the more you drink it, the more you like it? Maybe? Although, I'm not sure the beer thing is true. Regardless, I love having flavored water.


{via}


{4} Soul Pancake and Kid President 
Soul Pancake is a website and YouTube channel (See more here) that always provides a feel good message. From having people give compliments to each other, to having strangers meet in a ball pit, you can bet that by the time you finish watching the videos, you will have a smile on your face. If you need a pick-me-up today, check it out! Here is one of my favorite videos from that channel:

Kid President is on the Soul Pancake channel as well, and he is just adorable! His words are wise and true, but funny. One of my favorite videos of his is a pep talk that I show to all my classes. Sometimes the pep talk is more for me than anyone else, but I think it resonates with the students too:

{5} New England Aquarium
My very amazing husband drove me into Boston on Tuesday to attend a workshop at the New England Aquarium. It was such a great experience; I learned so many new activities to integrate into my marine biology class, and I was even able to enter the aquarium for free! I felt like a kid again :). It was especially nice on Tuesday, since I didn't have any students to worry about! (When I bring my kids on a field trip, I am so stressed  the whole time; I don't want to lose anyone!) I would definitely attend another workshop there sometime in the near future!


Hope you all have a great Friday and weekend! :)